The Host (2013)

There is always a certain amount of trepidation when sitting down to watch a adaptation of a book into film. Thankfully this is a faithful take on the book.The Host tells the story of a non corporeal alien race who have taken over Earth by inhabiting the bodies of almost all of humanity. Melanie Stryder, part of the resistance, and one of the only few remaining humans, is captured and turned into a host. Now with a dominant alien being inside her, Melanie remains trapped inside her human body and she fights to save her brother and be reunited with her true love, Jared.The Host is a strangely engaging for a film where nothing very much really happens.The narrative in itself is admittedly an interesting one; the utopian future, where humanity barely exists any longer except for the resistance, a small group of human humans who live in caves in the desert fending for themselves, hoping not to be taken over by the parasites. Seeing how the remains of the human race are living, surviving in their self built underground lair is life affirming, and the welcoming of a stranger into their home, especially one who could threaten their cover, is uplifting. The climax is heartwarming too, if a little predicable (even if you haven't read the book) where both the underdog, in this case humanity itself, and of love true love, win through.The sweeping desert landscapes and the utopian cityscapes are breathtaking and beautiful. Even the underground home of the resistance is simply but beautifully crafted. Even the aliens shopping facilities and transport are enviable.Our lead as Melanie/Wanderer, is the main issue with the film. There is an obvious difficulty developing the two leading characters in the time usually taken for just one. She is relatively emotionless and static for the most part and while this is clearly a trait of the alien beings, the conflict between the host and the human still fighting inside never really leaves this inert state of emotion. Sadly this makes the character of Melanie/Wanderer rather unsympathetic. The novel obviously develops the emotional turmoil much more successfully. The tumult of Wanderer when she falls in love with Ian ultimately fails when portrayed by Wanderer's blank expressions and Melanie's wan voiceover. One would think this is more a performance based issue rather than a storytelling one. Disappointingly, Saoirse Ronan is not engaging as neither Melanie nor Wanda.The voiceover occasionally grates too. It is a very unusual device to use throughout a film narrative, albeit one that does work, and is an effective way of getting Melanie's point of view across. It is also faithful to the way in which the novel is written.Diane Krueger, however, is great at The Seeker, playing the struggle between her human side and host subtly, but with more success. The moment she shoots one of her fellow seekers, is the turning point for her character(s), her obvious turmoil showing with no need for a voiceover, just simply great acting.The majority of the other characters are reduced to supporting roles, Melanies lover Jared, and her brother Jamie are lucky enough to be included in the flashback story of Melanie, pre insertion, but Jamie is sadly underdeveloped and Jared only a tad more so. Ian is the character that suffers the most, his pain in falling for Wanderer is sadly non existent, making him rather two dimensional. Uncle Jeb is more favourable, kindly, and sympathetic to the alien race, he is a champion to the human race.BOTTOM LINE: Faithful adaptation of the novel, with an appealing and uplifting message.With mixed performances, the production is really the star, but still worth getting into the skin of.

Yes, the movie gets bogged down by some show-stopping incomprehensions, some hilarious bloopers and some bouts of overacting (ah, Diane Kruger...), but to be frank, it could've been much worse, and the end result is... enjoyable. The story does not require that much thought if you are in for the laughs, the acting can be decent at times, the music is enjoyable (well, it is the highlight of the movie), and in the end, you have passed a satisfying amount of time watching it. So all in all... OK.

The critics did not treat this film well, however, after re-watching it a couple of times, I will admit, I find it mostly a entertaining and solid effort, with the impeccable impressive Saoirse Ronan headlining the cast. I cannot think of one thing I've seen her in, that Im not impressed by her acting abilities, including this. While not per se, a great movie, it deserves a solid rating. Mildly entertaining romantic sci fi dust-up. Overall? Worth the Watch

You remember the TV show V with aliens invading our earth, taking our bodies and resources while crushing a brave resistance? Well, this is pretty much the same idea here, with the funny idea of Inside out about having much people driving one body ! The other difference is that the movie is rather philosophical and analyses feeling instead of being a hollow action movie with guns fights, car fights, etc… The good thing here is that the cast is excellent : Saoirse has everything for her as she excels in physical stuff and has drama knowledge as well… For one time, Kruger finds the perfect part as the seekers chief because she has indeed a cold, unfunny, strict and not cool personality. However this canyon location and cave settlement is not really enjoyable, all the more than the movie used too much the dreadful orange / blue palette… So it's an original SciFi piece but at the end, just honest and not worthy to be labeled as a Classic !